Tolomia leads Tamaraws' charge over Cardinals
By AARON VALDEZApril 26, 2014 1:24pm
The revamped Far Eastern University Tamaraws started their preseason strong after routing the Mapua Cardinals, 89-77, on Saturday at the FilOil Flying V Arena, in their first assigment of the 2014 FilOil Flying V Hanes Premier Cup.
"Sinong Terrence, sino yun?" FEU head coach Nash Racela jokingly quipped, referring to the Tamaraws' UAAP Season 76 MVP Terrence Romeo, who opted out of his final playing year to join the PBA. "We're past that already as early as the Champions League. The learning continues, important sa amin is we know what we are capable of."
"I told them [Terrence Romeo and fellow star guard RR Garcia] to make the right decision."
Mike Tolomia, who is expected to step into a bigger role with the loss of Garcia and Romeo, met expectations, scored 19 points, leading three other players in double figures.
FEU controlled the tempo in the first quarter, utilizing a running game, which benefitted their smaller, more mobile line-up, as Tolomia tallied a total of seven first quarter points early, while Mapua settled for long-range bombs which rarely fell through. The Tams led by six after a Tolomia jumper, 12-6, but the Cards managed to trim the lead to just three after a hook by Jesse Saitanan, 13-10.
FEU pushed the lead to eight after a three by Francis Tamsi, 18-10, but a stab by Joseph Eriobu cut the lead to six heading to the second canto, 18-12.
The Cards snipped the lead to four points after a dunk off a turnover by Eriobu, 20-16, as both teams found their rhythm offensively, with the lead swinging from four to eight points. Five straight markers from Mac Belo gave FEU a nine-point lead. 33-24, but four in a row by Josan Nimes kept Mapua within striking distance, 33-28. Eight unanswered from FEU rounded out the half, as the Tams entered the intermission with a commanding 41-28 lead.
At the break, sophomore Raymar Jose led the Tams in the scoring department with eight, followed by Mac Belo and Tolomia with seven apiece. Nimes top-scored for Mapua with 11, followed by Saitanan with eight. FEU won the rebounding battle, 26-16, but committed more turnovers than Mapua, 9-5.
Tolomia opened the third quarter with a nifty up-and-under move to expand the lead to 16 points, 44-28. Mapua brought it down to single digits after a lay-up by Leo Gabo, 47-38, but six unaswered from FEU kept the Tams afloat by 13 points, 55-42.
Six points from Nimes late in the quarter downsized the lead to seven points, 62-55, but a five-point swing from the Tams put them ahead by 12. A basket by Nimes inside closed out the quarter, with his team still far behind by 10, 67-57.
The Morayta-based squad maintained the double-digit lead for most of the fourth, until a 7-2 run late in the final canto cut what was once a 13-point lead down to just seven. However, young guns Padilla and Inigo swished back-to-back triples with a minute and a half remaining to keep the lead earnest, 89-75. Mapua couldn't get anything going, as they fell to the Tams, 89-77.
Tolomia fired 19 points on 7-of-15 shooting, to go along with three rebounds and four assists. Belo followed suit with 13 markers, while Jose added 12 points and seven rebounds. Inigo notched 11 with 3-of-4 shooting from downtown.
Far Eastern U crashed the glass 49-32, scoring 24 points off 18 offensive rebounds. The Tams also converted 49 percent of their shots, making 33 out of 68 attempts.
Nimes quietly scattered 28 points on 11-of-20 shooting, while Saitanan joined him as the only two players to have scored in double-digits for Mapua with 15. The Cardinals though had more assists, 20 to 17.
Mapua will face the Lyceum of the Philippines University on Monday, April 28 at 12:30pm, while FEU is set to go against the RP Youth U18 on the same day at 4pm. - JDL, GMA News
The scores:
FEU - Tolomia 19, Belo 13, Jose 12, Inigo 11, Hargrove 6, Pogoy 5, Padilla 5, Cruz 4, Escoto 3, Tamsi 3, Denila 2, Dennison 2, Ugsang 2, Delfinado 2, Escoto R. 0
MIT - Nimes 28, Saitanan 15, Eriobu 8, Cantos 6, Layug 5, Manarin 4, Biteng 3, Estrella 3, Gabo 2, Serrano 2, Brana 1, Canaynay 0
 |
Originally Posted by Dark Knight
